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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, JULY 8, 2017
OBITUARIES
SMITH—Myrna
R.
(Brandsow) Smith, 80, passed
a w a y
Monday,
June
26,
2017.
Myrna was
born May 27,
1937, in The
Dalles, Ore.,
to Raymond
and
Myrna Smith J.
Laverna A.
(Johnson) Brandsow.
Myrna grew up in Vernonia.
In 1952, the family moved to
Reedsport, Ore., where she
attended Reedsport High
School and graduated in 1955.
There, she met Thomas R.
Smith and they were married in
August of 1955. Shortly after,
they moved to Oceanside,
Calif., while Tom served in the
U.S. Marine Corps.
Returning to Oregon, they
moved to the Alderwood Dairy
Farm on Fiddle Creek, which
was owned and operated by the
Smith Family for more than 20
years.
After her divorce in 1977,
Myrna worked for Florence
City Hall and Municipal Court.
She loved her children, grand-
children and great-grandchil-
dren, as well as gardening —
especially her roses — and
playing Pinochle with the girls.
Myrna is survived by her ex-
husband, Tom, of Reedsport;
three sons: Monty, and his wife
Annie, of Eugene; Vance, and
his wife Suzanne, of Florence;
and Jason of Veneta; a brother,
Steve, and his wife Dee
Brandsow, of Alaska; seven
grandchildren and nine great-
grandchildren.
She was preceded in death
by both of her parents; her sis-
ter Barbara (Brandsow) Ott; her
brother Jim Brandsow; and an
infant son, Benjamin.
At her request, no services
will be planned.
Burns’s Riverside Chapel
Florence Funeral Home is in
charge of all arrangements.
HEAD—Eileen A. Head
was born in Portland, Ore., on
May
25,
1938.
Eileen
married
James Head
on Aug 11,
1956,
in
Portland.
T h e y
to
Eileen Head moved
Florence a
little over 20 years ago.
Eileen is preceded in death
POLICE LOG
Florence Police
June 26
Theft from vehicle was
reported on the 3100 block of
Highway 101.
Arrest, with warrant, was
reported on the 9000 block of
Greenwood Street.
Fire was reported on the 4700
block of Windward Way
Menacing was reported on
North Chestnut Street.
June 27
DUII was reported on the
1500 block of Ninth Street.
Arrest, with warrant, was
reported on the 1000 block of
Highway 101.
Theft from vehicle was
reported at the 8700 block of
Harbor Vista Road.
Theft was reported from the
2500 block of Highway 101.
Arrest, with warrant, was
reported on the 900 block of
Greenwood Street.
Arrest, with warrant, was
reported on the 100 block of
Spruce Street.
June 28
Dispute was reported on
Glenada Ridge Road.
Trespass was reported on the
700 block of Highway 101.
Theft was reported on the
1500 block of Sixth Street.
Accident, without injury, was
reported at the Port of Siuslaw.
Dispute was reported on
Airport Road.
June 29
Arrest, with warrant, was
reported on the 1300 block of
Bay Street.
by her son, James Michael
Head. She is survived by her
husband, James Head; her son
Robert E. Head; grandson
Michael James Head; and her
brother, Donald Robert Evans.
Eileen was a den mother in
the cub scouts for a little over
five years. She was also active
in the Oregon State Grange.
She was a past president in
the Rebekah Lodge of the
IOOF. She was also active in
her local LDS Church.
Eileen’s service will be held
Saturday, July 15, at 11 a.m., at
the LDS Church, at the corner
of Munsel Lake Road and
North Fork Road.
All are welcome.
SEAVER—John Seaver III,
a longtime resident of Florence,
Ore., passed
June
29,
2017 from
natural caus-
es only 3
weeks shy of
his
95th
Birthday.
John was
and
John Seaver born
raised
in
Eugene, Ore., and moved with
his family to Swisshome, Ore.
Hiss parents, John and
Myrtle Seaver, II, opened a
lodge for travelers on the
Siuslaw River and operated it
for years.
John was a graduate of
Mapleton High School — a
class of seven, which included
longtime friend Don Davidson.
John and his brother Jim
enlisted in the Service and
served the country in World
War II. When John returned
home, he opened up a gas sta-
tion in Brickerville, Ore., with
his brother.
John moved to Florence in
1950. He was a long-standing
member of the Florence Elks
Lodge and other organizations.
John was a hard worker and his
accomplishments were proof of
that.
He was a logger who owned
and operated the Florence
Laundromat on Rhododendron
Drive for years. He also had his
own ice-making business, man-
aged his own rental properties
and was a farmer and rancher
— which he loved most.
John was a father, a friend, a
mentor, a partner and much
more. He loved his children, his
step-children, his grandkids,
great-grandchildren and great-
great-grandchildren, and was a
huge joy to them as well.
He loved what the coast
brought him, like fresh salmon,
crab, shrimp, clams and espe-
cially fresh rainbow trout.
He liked ranching and raised
many cattle over the course of
his life. John spent countless
hours supporting his family and
being interested in what they
were doing. He will be missed
very much.
John is survived by his part-
ner of 25 years, Mary Miner.
She has been by his side and
enjoyed the time they had
together as well as helped him
through his last years.
Other survivors are his chil-
dren: his son John Seaver IV,
his wife Debora and daughter
Linda Lutz; step-son Art
Morgan and his wife Debbie;
step-daughter Mary Bales and
her husband Jim; great-grand-
children and even a great-great-
grandchild.
In honor of John’s wishes,
there will be no public service.
Burns’s Riverside Chapel
Florence Funeral Home was in
charge of arrangements.
Raymond Austin
AUSTIN—Raymond Lee
Austin, 84, of Florence and for-
merly of Coos Bay, passed
away April 21, 2017.
Born in Dewey, Okla.,
March 27, 1933, to Martha and
Herbert Austin, Ray was one of
14 children. The family came to
Oregon in search of work dur-
ing the Dust Bowl of the 1930s,
when Ray was 3.
After meeting on a blind
date, Ray married the love of
his life, Dollie Noah, and
quickly started a family, which
brought him great pride.
He was an avid sports fan
and followed the Marshfield
Pirates, Siuslaw Vikings and
especially the Oregon Ducks!
In 2015, his family took him
on the road trip of a lifetime
when they traveled to
Pasadena, Calif., to watch the
Ducks beat Florida State in the
Rose Bowl — the first ever
NCAA College
Football
Playoff.
Even though he only lived in
the Florence area a short while,
Ray made many wonderful
friends there and his longtime
friends and “cronies” on the
South Coast were cherished
deeply as well.
Surrounded by his family
on a beautiful spring after-
noon, Ray passed peacefully.
He is survived by his loving
wife, Dollie; his children:
Alice Burns (Jim), Dan
(Elaine), Rick (Martha), Don
and Deb Nicholls (Tom); his
sisters: Barbara and Bernice
Bishop; and a brother, Darrel.
God graced Ray with a
large and loving family of 24
grandchildren, 36 great-
grandchildren and one great-
great-grandchild.
Ray was a loving husband,
father, grandfather, great-
grandfather,
great-great-
grandfather, brother, uncle,
cousin and friend.
A teacher, mentor and con-
fidant, Ray will be greatly
missed.
To the best “old growth”
created … we miss you but
know you can now run
through the woods again!
A celebration of life for
Ray will be held at 1:30 p.m.,
Saturday, Aug. 12, at the
Florence Church of the
Nazarene, 1536 12th St.
In lieu of flowers, please
make donations in Ray’s
name to The Friends of
Florence Cancer Patient Van,
PO Box 598, Florence, OR
97439.
Arrangements are under the
care of Coos Bay Chapel,
541-267-3131.
To view the full version of
the obituary, friends and family
are encouraged to login to
www.coosbayareafunerals.com
and sign the online guestbook.